MRSA Room-mates?

Nurses General Nursing

Published

Specializes in Big Variety.

Are all hospitals now putting MRSA patients in with other patients?

Are all hospitals now putting MRSA patients in with other MRSA patients?

We used to put the MRSA patient in a private room. Has this changed everywhere?

If I were a patient, I would refuse to be in with an MRSA patient. This practice does not seem right to me!

Can you direct me to any sites concerning this problem?

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We don't put a MRSA patient with a no-MRSA patient but we try to regroupe them if we can and if it's possible.

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Our hospital doesn't, but a couple of nursing homes I've worked at do.

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Specializes in ICU, Research, Corrections.
Our hospital doesn't, but a couple of nursing homes I've worked at do.

Yeah, I have seen it here in Phoenix in nursing homes. They tried to put my Mom in a room with a pt with MRSA. Of course, nobody said she had MRSA but I noticed the contact precautions sign on the door when they announced "the plan" to move her. I immediatley went to the charge nurse and demanded to know WHY she had precautions since I was my Mom's POA and she tried to pull the "HIPPA dance" on me, but I wasn't standing for it since I was the POA. Come to find out she wouldn't tell me because she didn't know :nono: Yeah, that patient had MRSA and there was no way in h*ll I was letting my mom get transferred in there since the patient has respiratory MRSA and mom was recuperating from a 3 month battle with ARDS! I am getting mad just typing about it. :devil:

Lu Ann

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Specializes in ER.

MRSA patients can share a room here. They do not share with non-MRSA patients.

Same for VRE.

Chip

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

We use private rooms for MRSA patients. Sometimes if it's the same site, like colonized in the nares, or in the urine if they both have foleys, we'll double up. It's rare we get to double up on our unit.

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Not around here (Tx). But I also wanted to mention something gross. My mom got MRSA in her Belly Button, for no reason at all. It is weird but true.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho.

At this point we dont put MRSA patients in double rooms. But as incidence rises we will probly be putting patients that are negative in private rooms.

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Specializes in Emergency.

For what its worth alot of pts in LTC probably are MRSA positive. In one study several years ago, the hospital I worked in was seeing 1 of 4 pts comming from LTC or other hospitals being positive. What they were doing was these types of pts had urine, nasal, axillary and groin swabs collected. The pts were automaticly placed on isolation until the results came back.

I would be willing to bet this number is much higher today. Shoot I would bet most nurses who have being doing bedside care for any length of time probably is colonized. Hmmmmmmmmm maybe I need to apply for some type of grant and do a study.

Rj

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Specializes in Corrections, Cardiac, Hospice.

We use to keep MRSA patients separate, but when we got SO many all of a suuden they can be with other patients.:madface: The wound specialist at the hospital claims if it is in the urine and they have a foley, it is contained and not contagious. If it is in a wound and the wound is covered, there isn't a problem...BUT if it is in the nares it is airborne and they must be in isolation. HOWEVER, if it were MY mom, NOWAY would I let her in the same room with MRSA. I also have been known to move other patients out and block the bed over the weekend, lol.

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not around here (tx). but i also wanted to mention something gross. my mom got mrsa in her belly button, for no reason at all. it is weird but true.

not surprising at all. if there's an opening anywhere you can contract mrsa.

to the op, i've seen mrsa and non-mrsa residents share a room. this infuriates me because when the mrsa resident leaves the room she/he runs her hand along the other resident bed, thus spreading the germ. here in ltc the mrsa protocol is listed on the door, we have to glove & gown up when we are in there. but, the mrsa resident can leave the room and roam around the nursing home because management states that ltc is their home and we cannot keep them quarantined??????? i no longer work at this facility.:nono:

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I use to work at LTC. They had a MRSA patient in a room. We then got a patient at the LTC just transferred from the hospital. They put the guy with the fresh abdominal surgery wound in the room with the MRSA patient. Of course, the post surgery patient then got MRSA in his abdominal wound.:madface: :madface: :madface:

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